Of Utmost Urgency
by Elliotsmelliot
Summary: For John, survival had always been in his blood.


x x x

_Bakersfield, California - October 22, 1962_

The five of them were piled together on the couch watching the Flintstones when Tom Brokaw's solemn image replaced Fred and Barney's bowling game. John leaned forward in his seat and shushed Tomas's groans.

"This is an NBC special news report. President Kennedy announced today he will regard any nuclear missiles launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response. Viewers are advised to stay tuned for an important message from the Emergency Measures Organization."

Brokaw's face dissolved into a commercial for cat food but all John could see was the mushroom shaped cloud rising in his mind's eye. It had been a reoccurring image sneaking across his vision ever since news broke last week of the secret Soviet missile silos in Cuba. Everyone was abuzz. Would they invade Cuba? Would Russia try to stop them? How close was the nuclear clock to striking midnight?

Tomas leaped off the coach and grabbed the broom. He put it between his legs and started galloping around the living room, whooping, "The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming!"

"John?" Jeannie's voice quivered. "What's wrong? Are we at war?"

"Better dead than read! Better dead than red!"

"Tomas please stop that," John asked. "This is no time to lose our heads." When he ignored him and began waving a skipping rope around like a lasso, John tried another tactic. "Tomas, you're frightening the children."

John's words had the desired effect and Tomas got off the broom and rested his chin on the tip of the handle. He liked to be reminded that at eleven, he was the oldest foster child in the Polk family. John was a year younger and Jeannie was eight, eight and half, she liked to inform people. Britney and Blair, actual siblings and actual twins, were new to the family and had just started their first year at school.

"So what happens now?" he asked. John may be younger but Tomas had no problem deferring to him on subjects unrelated to comic books, cowboys and sports.

John felt his whole purpose in life had been leading up to this very moment.

The choices he made today could determine if his brothers and sisters survived the predicted apocalypse. There might be no time to wait until the Polks came home, and as nice as they were, who knew if their loyalties would stick with their manufactured family in times of utmost urgency. The kids needed to stick together and John knew exactly how to lead them to safety.

He firmly believed that the Cold War would be won not by whoever had the most bombs or whoever pushed the button first but by whichever country's citizens were the most prepared. He had gained this insight from being his class's civil defence monitor, responsible for leading the duck and cover drills and he had memorized the Emergency Measures Organization's pamphlet _11 Steps to Survival_.

"Here's what we're going to do."

The most important thing was shelter. Now even he was pretty sure there was nothing they could do to withstand a direct blast but since Bakersfield was not a target city they probably only had to worry about exposure to radiation. Unfortunately there was no time to dig an underground bunker to protect them from the fallout. They would have to make do with the basement. He nailed boards over the basement's three windows while Tomas dragged their mattresses and bedding downstairs

Supplies were the next big thing. Ideally they would need to have enough for fourteen days, the time it would take for the radiation levels to return to normal. Luckily Mrs. Polk had just bought groceries. John instructed Britney and Blair to relocate the pantry to the basement and the two girls filled their school bags with cans and fresh food. Jeannie was in charge of first aid and morale. She collected band aids, aspirin and Blair's inhaler, flashlights and candles, the radio and batteries, and the chess and backgammon sets. Next John found all the empty containers in the house, filled them with water, covered them with cling wrap and brought them down to the basement.

It only took two hours to set everything up and when it was all done he was quite pleased with the results. The beds had been set up under the stairs, just like they did when there was an earthquake. The food and water was stocked neatly on top of the washer and dryer. They could use the ping pong table and Mr. Polk's exercise bike to stay in shape.

It all looked quite snug and safe and John was looking forward to living down here. It would be quite the adventure, as would exploring a post-nuclear war world. They would have to get back to the basics, live off the land. And maybe there would be giant ants and zombies to fight.

He was still admiring his handiwork when Tomas asked, "What about a toilet? I'm not going in front of the girls."

"Uh…" That had to be in the pamphlet somewhere. Maybe they could sneak up to use the real one once or twice a day and still be unaffected by the radiation.

Before he could suggest this, he heard the front door open and Mr. and Mrs. Polk calling out for them. All the other kids rushed upstairs to greet them but John stayed behind. He sensed his foster parents might not be impressed that he had torn apart their house without permission. So he huddled on a blanket in the furthest corner under the stairs with a flashlight and opened his Russian-English dictionary. Though he knew not say this out loud, he didn't think the Soviets were all that bad. They shared everything and valued family and community.

John still thought of himself as a patriot but it was better to be safe than prostite.

x x x


End file.
